Jurors this morning found Sandra Jacobson guilty of driving drunk and causing a crash that killed two Connecticut librarians on Jan. 28, 2009.
Jacobson was convicted of two counts each of vehicular homicide, careless driving causing death, and leaving the scene of an accident. She was convicted of one count each of third-degree assault, careless driving causing serious injury and driving under the influence.
Judge Robert McGahey Jr. revoked Jacobson’s $250,000 bond and set new bail at $1 million.
Jacobson faces up to 36 years in prison when she is sentenced June 4.
Denver sheriff’s deputies handcuffed Jacobson, and she was in tears as she was walked out of the courtroom.
“Disappointed would be the only legitimate word,” said Jacobson’s lead defense attorney, Charles Elliot, when asked for his reaction.
He indicated that Jacobson plans to pursue an appeal.
Jacobson’s pickup collided with a taxi van on Pena Boulevard, sending it skidding off the road, where it rolled over twice. The driver of the cab, Nejmudean Abdusalam, was injured, and librarians Kate McClelland, 71, and Kathleen Krasniewicz, 54, were ejected and killed.
“She took no responsibility,” said Christine Washburn, the lead prosecutor in the case. “And as we argued, we believe that she either knew that she hit the cab and knew she was drunk and left the scene, or she was so drunk she didn’t even realize it.
“She needs to be accountable for taking the lives of these two women, who were completely innocent victims, and injuring Mr. Abdusalam, and just taking off.”
The trial, which stretched into its eighth day, centered on two versions of events.
In one, prosecutors alleged, Jacobson was severely intoxicated and driving more than 80 mph when she lost control of her pickup, swerved across two lanes, and clipped a taxi van, sparking the fatal rollover. In the other, Jacobson asserted that she was sober, driving the speed limit, momentarily lost control of her truck – possibly after the taxi ran into her – and drove on because she never saw another vehicle, then downed a bottle of Vitamin Water laced with banana schnapps after stopping at Denver International Airport.
Both sides succeeded in illustrating discrepancies in the stories told by their opponents.
Prosecutors, for example, highlighted the fact that Jacobson initially told police officers that she drank NyQuil the day of the accident, then later told the story of the banana schnapps, and pointed to a shifting story about why she lost control. Initially, Jacobson said a dog in the back seat of her pickup jumped over the seat to get a Cheeto, bumping her arm. Later, she intimated that the taxi van ran into the back of her, propelling the dog over the seat.
Defense attorneys raised issues about the police investigation. For example, a set of tire marks on the roadway were not marked or measured the day of the accident but later, after a photographic examination, were attributed to Jacobson’s truck. And at least six police officers had contact with Jacobson after the accident and acknowledged that they did not smell alcohol or see other outward signs that she was intoxicated.
